Expert View: Sam Northeast looks ahead to England v India Test series

Richard Mann: It seems every time that England and India meet in Test cricket, the stakes are taken up another notch and the current series becomes more important than the one before. But this summer, ahead of an Ashes winter, where do you think England’s priorities will lay?

Sam Northeast: It’s such an interesting series for lots of different reasons, but you’re right, you can’t help but feel that England must start preparing for the Ashes now. I think we’ll learn plenty about this England team over the next weeks: what style of cricket this younger side want to play; which of the new breed of batsmen are ready to belong in international cricket; what Joe Root's main priorities are going forward. Is beating India at home in conditions you are familiar with more important than taking a look at new players in conditions that might be closer to what you can expect in Australia? It’s a balance, but the Ashes is the Ashes and I think you must start preparing for it.

RM: Does that mean produce five flat pitches and go away from your strength – which is swing and seam bowling – or would you just like to see a few new faces who might be able to make a difference in Australia?

SN: I’d certainly want to look at some new faces. I’m a big fan of Matt Parkinson and I’d like to think he will come into calculations for Old Trafford and The Oval – where it can turn and bounce. I don’t buy into this argument that he bowls too slow; I just think he’s a very good bowler and in Australia – where things can go very flat when the ball gets soft – he’s the type to make things happen. The thing is, it wouldn’t be fair to take him and throw him in at Sydney on debut and ask him to win the Ashes. Have a look at him now and give him that exposure. As for the pitches, England have to weigh up the balance between winning the series and preparing for the winter. Is the Ashes still the big one? I’d say it is, but I still think we’ll see places like Trent Bridge and Lord’s start with plenty of grass on the wickets because they will fear India’s batsman in good batting conditions – particularly if we get some decent weather.

RM: Parkinson is one who consistently draws debate, but what about the seamers? Assuming England won’t dare leave James Anderson or Stuart Broad out, it might be tough to find room for too many new faces in the bowling attack…

SN: It will and I think this is where Ben Stokes’ absence will be felt most. Having him in the team and making the runs he does with the bat allows you to pick a fourth seamer – someone like a Mark Wood who offers genuine pace – and a frontline spinner alongside Anderson and Broad. England have been very lucky to have Stokes. I guess Sam Curran will want to be a straight swap for Stokes, and he’s done well against India in the past, but if the pitches have grass on them, will they do away with a frontline spinner early in the series and hope Root can plug a few overs whilst banking on a four-man pace attack? I think there will be a temptation to lengthen the batting without Stokes, especially given the inexperience in this current batting line-up, but I hope we get another look at someone like Craig Overton at some point. He’s a very good bowler and like Ollie Robinson, I think he’s really gone up a notch in the last year or so. Robinson might move the ball around more, but Overton hits the pitch hard and should be suited by Australia. Like Parkinson, you’d want to have a look at him first with The Oval and Old Trafford the obvious places. I think Mark Wood will be looking forward to bowling on those quicker surfaces, too.

RM: Of all the players to be missing for a marquee series like this one, you sense Stokes and Anderson would be the two players Root would have been desperate not to lose…

SN: It’s a massive loss and leaves England with so many questions. As I’ve said, how will they balance that side now? You either lengthen your batting at the expense of your bowling, or you go the other way and hope your inexperienced batting line-up can step up. When he’s there, Stokes gives you so many options that other teams aren’t able to have.

RM: He’s obviously had his moments with the ball, but it’s Stokes the batsman that England will miss the most isn’t it?

SN: It just puts the focus even more on that batting line-up. I wonder whether Jonny Bairstow might come into the side now given his aggressive approach and the experience he has. I do think it might make England revisit the Root batting at number three conundrum. He’s such a good player and while I know he’s not keen on batting there, I think if he owned that position for the next six months, it would make such a difference to the rest of the line-up. You look at guys like Dan Lawrence and Ollie Pope and as good as they are, I don’t think you’d want to ask them to bat three in an Ashes. Zak Crawley obviously looked like he’d be the one, but he’s found it tough batting there with the ball moving around and I wonder if white-ball cricket might suit him better for now. Crawley is a class act and he’ll come again in Test cricket, I have no doubts about that, but it’s a tough gig batting at number three in Test cricket and if Root took on that job again, it would make it much easier for those younger guys following. Pope is the really interesting one. He has all the talent in the world, but if I would say one thing about him, it would be that he’s maybe not quite found the right tempo for batting in Test cricket. Because he’s that good, every time he comes back to county cricket he just dominates and makes runs for fun at whatever tempo he wants. Every time he’s stepped up, he’s found it easy to do, but Test cricket is the pinnacle and I think if he just took his time a little more and sharpened up his decision making, he’d be absolutely fine. He has everything else. I suppose the final point on England’s batting is the possible recall of Haseeb Hameed. You’d guess Dom Sibley would be most at risk were England keen to take another look at Hammed, but Sibley is the man in possession and the point to make here is that you’d be replacing like for like. It’s not like you’re bringing in a dasher to take the game to the opposition. England went down that road with Jason Roy and have seemingly decided they want their openers to set the game up for the middle order nowadays.

RM: Sticking with batsmen for a minute, India will really need their captain to fire if they are to win the series won’t they?

SN: They do. I’m not sure they can win without Virat Kohli having a good series. He did just that in 2018 and it wasn’t enough for India then, and I do think this batting line-up is fragile if you can get the ball moving around a little. I think we saw that last winter. You always felt like they were close to a collapse until Rishabh Pant came in and changed the direction of the game. He’s a huge wicket in that middle order coming in after Kohli and Rohit Sharma. I’ve always felt that Sharma has the potential to be on a different level and I’m interested to see how he goes opening the batting in these conditions. I suppose there is a similar comparison with Jason Roy who opened for England in Test cricket on the back of dominating in white-ball cricket. When the red Dukes ball moves sideways, it’s a completely different ball game, but Sharma is such a good player that he might just find a way. Whereas England will look to be conservative up top, I think Sharma will be positive in the same way someone like Virender Sehwag used to be. If England’s bowlers aren’t on it, he’ll put you away and I think flat wickets would really suit India. If we get some sporting surfaces, England could run through them, but if we get good weather and good pitches, it could be tough work.

RM: But England are always a tough nut to crack at home, for all a very good New Zealand side had too much for them earlier in the summer…

SN: Any side with Anderson and Broad opening the bowling in England is going to win Test matches. They are incredible bowlers and I know Jimmy is still bullish about his body and how he can keep going. I wouldn’t write them off at all, but I think England are okay in the fast-bowling department and while those two are going to be impossible to replace, there are plenty of very good bowlers waiting in the wings. I think they’ll be fine long term, but it’s the batting that raises most questions. You look at that top six without Stokes and many of those guys are at the start of their journeys, while India’s batting line-up has much more experience in there with proven performers at this level. India are more like the finished article, while England are just beginning their cycle. That’s an exciting thing, though, and there’s no shortage of talent in that squad. They just need exposure and to find their feet.

• You can listen to Sam Northeast on the regular Two Hacks, One Pro cricket podcast